Stream Team flows into new hands4-H program encourages youths' interest in conservation By Brooke Chambers Reporter HECTOR - Since he was 12 years old, Seth Sumners knew he wanted to pursue a career in environmental conservation. Through the Pope County 4-H Stream Team, he was able to build a firm foundation for himself and his future as an environmental steward. Son of Steven and Tammy Sumners of Scottsville, Seth attended a summer camp at C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center in ...

Emergency drill to take place Tuesday at TechDrill planned before Virginia Tech shootings; ATU administration decides to continue as scheduled For The Courier Arkansas Tech University will conduct a campus-wide emergency preparedness drill Tuesday on its Russellville campus. The drill will give the university an opportunity to test its Emergency Operations Plan (EOP), which was developed by members of the campus community in conjunction with local authorities during the past two years. T...

$4M awarded to Arkansas for middle school scienceMay 1 local deadline for teacher mini-grants applications For The Courier The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation Board of Directors approved two grants to improve science instruction in all Arkansas public middle schools. The WRF awarded $4 million to the Arkansas Community Foundation endowment whose income (about $200,000 per year) will support a science mini-grant program to be implemented by local Arkansas Community Foundation Affiliates (ARCF...

Dover principal requests return to old scheduleMore class time may mean less PE for DHS students By Brooke Chambers Reporter DOVER - Students at Dover High School may soon be spending a few more minutes each day with their classroom teachers if their principal's recommendation sticks. Principal Jamie Churchill requested during Monday night's school board meeting that in light of the recently passed State Act 317 - which unmandated certain physical activity requirements in schools through t...

Global warming debate heats up at high schoolPre-AP biology students research, discuss topics related to hot issue By Brooke Chambers Reporter Jason Walker's pre-AP biology classroom at Russellville High School was transformed Monday into a forum for debating a world issue his 10th-grade students have been exposed to most of their lives, but have only researched within the past week. Dressed in their best business attire, students in Walker's four biology classes argued whether global wa...

Tech to receive $3M from state$2.8M appropriated, plus $200K for general improvements By Brooke Chambers Reporter The Arkansas Tech University Board of Trustees learned last week the university will receive $3 million from the state beginning this July. During the 86th Arkansas General Assembly, legislators appropriated $2.8 million for Tech, in addition to annual cost-of-living pay increases for faculty and staff. Phil Jacobs, vice president for governmental relations at ...

Tech board approves $1M cafeteria expansionBrown: Expansion sign of growth By Brooke Chambers Reporter The Arkansas Tech University Board of Trustees approved a $1 million transfer of university funds to begin work on a proposed expansion at Chambers Cafeteria. Construction fencing recently went up around the grassy area west of the existing cafeteria where a 4,752-square-foot facility will soon be built. A hallway will connect the two free-standing facilities, allowing access to be op...

Literacy program continuesDavidson encourages participation in bookcase program By Laura Eppes Reporter A local group of citizens is working to ensure children from all backgrounds are afforded the opportunity and ability to read. The Bookcase 300 Club for Literacy started in Russellville in February, replicating a blueprint brought to the community from Conway native and syndicated columnist Jim Davidson. According to Davidson, the ability to read is one of the most i...

'Dynamic personality' among deciding factors in superintendent selectionHector chooses its first known female superintendent By Brooke Chambers Reporter HECTOR - The Hector School Board not only hired the district's new head administrator during a special meeting Tuesday night, but also selected its first known female superintendent. Karen Smith, current assistant superintendent at the Bismarck School District, was chosen from four final candidates Tuesday night to fill the position to be left vacant in June by cu...

Hector School Board chooses superintendentChoice is current assistant superintendent at Bismarck By Brooke Chambers Reporter HECTOR - After interviewing four candidates for the position of superintendent, the Hector School Board offered the administrative position to Karen Smith, current assistant superintendent at the Bismark School District, during a special-called meeting Tuesday night. She will begin her duties July 1. Twenty-five applications were reviewed before the school board...

Dardanelle to host health fair SaturdayFree health screenings to be available By Brooke Chambers Reporter Booths on topics such as preventing heart disease, eating right, environmental protection and pet safety will fill the Dardanelle Physical Education Building this Saturday for a community-wide Health-Nutrition-Safety Fair. The event, hosted by the Dardanelle School District, will also offer cholesterol screenings, bone-density tests, body-fat analysis and samples of healthy sna...

Top students to be honored at scholars banquet MondayFor The Courier Local scholars will be honored Monday during the sixth annual Arkansas Scholars Recognition Banquet. The Russellville Area Chamber of Commerce-hosted event will recognize 86 Russellville High School seniors. The banquet will begin at 6 p.m. at Chambers Cafeteria on the Arkansas Tech University campus. Dr. Jeff Robertson of Arkansas Tech will be the guest speaker. Arkansas Scholars recognizes students with outstanding achievemen...

Dover schools hire new superNew administrator comes from South Conway County SD By Brooke Chambers Reporter DOVER - Nearly two months after current Superintendent Dan Lovelady announced his plans to retire from the Dover School District, the school board voted to hire its new head administrator. Jerry Owens, currently a deputy superintendent for the South Conway County School District at Morrilton, was hired Monday night during a special-called board meeting. A salary ha...

Tickets a must-have for RHS graduationCiting safety concerns, school limiting attendees to May 18 commencement By Brooke Chambers Reporter High school graduations are notorious for being hot, loud and over-crowded - no matter what size the school. But this year, the Russellville High School graduation ceremony may see a little relief with a new rule set in place this year: Spectators must have a ticket to enter. Each of the 345 graduating seniors at RHS will receive a handful of t...

'Keys' to the futureMore Pope Co. schools making keyboarding classes mandatory for younger grades; RSD considering the move, too By Brooke Chambers Reporter With today's youth using computers at such a young age, many Pope County schools are introducing keyboarding classes to younger students than ever before. Once a mandatory eighth- or ninth-grade course, keyboarding is already offered to seventh graders in the Pottsville and Atkins school districts, with Dover...

Keyword: SuccessReader's Theater program teaches students how to communicate, excel in life By Brooke Chambers Reporter Being able to communicate with confidence is key to a successful life, according to Arkansas Tech University voice instructor Holly Ruth Gale. It's because of this philosophy that Gale, also a mother of two, volunteers her time each Friday afternoon to coach a group of London Elementary School fourth-graders on word recognition, fluency and ...

Teacher in grievance case alleges harassment, resignsStudents appear at hearing in support; teacher resigns day after hearing By Brooke Chambers Reporter DOVER - It wasn't a match of wits Monday night during a grievance hearing in front of the school board, but instead an "effort to out-document each other," according to School Board President Boyd Barton. In a two-hour open grievance hearing, which took place following a two-and-a-half hour school board meeting, Dover math teacher Dennis Smith ...

4th-grade artwork featured during May FairFor The Courier The Arkansas River Valley Arts Center, ATU Museum of Prehistory and History, and Phi Delta Kappa Educational Organization will co-sponsor May Fair 2007, an exhibition of fourth-grade elementary school children's art. The annual May Fair Exhibit is in celebration of Arkansas Heritage Month during the month of May. The 2007 Heritage theme is "Our Business is Heritage: Preserving, Protecting, Promoting." Exhibit sponsors requestin...

Additional math classes OK'dStudents to have option of having 2 years to take Algebra I By Brooke Chambers Reporter The Russellville School Board voted Tuesday night to give the district's junior-high and high-school students more opportunities to excel in math by offering more math courses. After hearing presentations from Junior High Principal Alene Bynum and High School Principal Wesley White, the board agreed to the principals' proposal that would give students the o...